


out of the woods

by writerlily



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:04:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8390017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerlily/pseuds/writerlily
Summary: There's no way that a religious girl from a small town with a preacher father could have survived the things she went through, yet here she is. Asleep and breathing, her heart beating and alive.





	

They bring her home on a Thursday night. 

The moon is low in the sky, signaling that the sun will slowly begin to peak over the mountains in the distance. 

Their car is loud and the dessert is quieter than usual, but it's a welcome emptiness tonight. The wind is calm, gentle even as it caresses everyone in the car. 

They make it back home and Seth carries Kate out of the car before anyone can say anything and neither of the other two men protest. They silently follow behind Seth as they walk back to their house. 

Scott opens the door for them and they stand in the foyer, all eyes on Kate fast asleep in Seth's arms.

Richard moves first and takes a step towards her. He stares at her for a beat too long, gently presses the tips of his fingers to her cheeks, then walks away. 

Scott doesn't leave her side. 

Even in the car, Scott sat next to her with her head cradled in his lap. And now he's sitting besides her again as Seth gently lowers her down onto one of the beds. Scott rubs the bridge of his nose, the shadows under his eyes looking darker than they've ever been. 

They're all tired. Exhausted. 

Seth's fingers flex against his gloves. There's dirt and blood caked on them and he slowly pulls them off, throwing them into the nearest bin. 

He didn't think he'd be able to touch her again. Feeling her, feeling Kate, near him and against him was more than he could have ever imagined. 

Seth had been so intent on killing Amaru, not wanting to believe that Kate was still trapped inside her body. It never made sense that the person he wanted in his life was still within reach in a world that only ever took things away from him. 

He drags a wooden chair over on the other side of her bed and his body sags with relief when he sits down. The chair creaks against his weight and he knows he's being loud, but Kate never stirs and Scott is too busy staring off at the wall to say anything. 

He hates how she looks. 

With her hair the color of blood and eyes too dark with makeup. 

_You lied..._

_You do have a soul..._

He sees Amaru, in all of her terrifying rage, choking him, sucking his soul out. It's what he sees at night when he closes his eyes.

Seth tiredly rubs a hand over his face and gets up again, even as his body screams in protest, to retrieve a wash cloth and a bowl of warm water with soap. He places it on top of the small table next to them and gently sits at the edge of her bed, where her arm presses against his lower back. 

He turns away where Scott won't be able to see him close his eyes at the warm feeling of her next to him. Seth tries not to think of all the times they were pressed closely together during their time on the road. 

_Mexican honeymoon..._

Seth wrings out the washcloth and begins to wipe her face. The way he does it is tender and so far removed from the violence and pain that he inflicted and felt earlier. For each gentle wipe of her face, he says sorry to her. 

Kate still doesn't move. She breathes deeply and slowly and Seth wonders what she's dreaming about, if she's even dreaming at all. She was a prisoner in her own mind and body-- a puppet for the queen of hell to play with and torture. He hopes that her sleep is kind to her.

Scott shifts and Seth realizes that he hasn't even been wiping anymore makeup off. He's been staring at the small slope of her nose and the fall of her eyelashes against her pale skin. 

There's a lot of things he regrets in life, but leaving her on the side of the road has to be the biggest one. 

He cleans her face until the soapy water in the bowl is a murky color and Kate's face looks free of the heavy eyeliners and shadows. 

"You should get some sleep," Seth says to Scott as he places the bowl aside. He doesn't get up from his spot on her bed and his eyes trail down to her small hand next to him. 

"I was supposed to protect her," Scott says quietly. His voice is laced with disappointment and Seth looks down at the scuff marks on his black boots.

If there's anyone who knows how Scott is feeling, it's Seth.

Seth, who knows the feelings of regret in not taking care of his sibling the way he should have.

"There's about a million things we could have done differently," Seth's jaw twitches. He stares back down at Kate and tries to memorize the curve of her jaw and the veins on her eyelids. "But we got her back. She's safe now. That's what matters."

If there's hell, then there's heaven. If there are demons, then there are angels. And if there's a devil, then there is a God. 

And for the first time, in a very, very, very long time, Seth thanks whatever God is out there. He says thanks for Richard, who may have fangs and be a fucking creep at times, but is alive and moving around downstairs. He says thanks that Scott is alive and that he doesn't have the blood of another Fuller on his hands. And lastly... 

Lastly, he says thank you for Kate. 

Seth takes her small hand in his own much larger, rougher hand. There's no way that a religious girl from a small town with a preacher father could have survived the things she went through, yet here she is. Asleep and breathing, her heart beating and alive. 

He just can't believe that she's back.

"She won't be the same after this," Scott says quietly. Seth looks at him, sees the way Scott's eyes are on Kate's hand in his. 

Seth swallows the lump in his throat. "No, I don't think she will be," he lowers his eyes. No one knows what she'll be like when she wakes up. He doesn't know if she'll run towards him, or away. He wouldn't be surprised if it was in the opposite direction from him... and that is an altogether terrifying thought that he can't face right now. Seth rubs his thumb across the back of her hand. "But she's strong and I know that she'll make it through this."

The room is filled with equal parts sadness and relief... but behind it all is a silver lining. Kate's eyes begin to slowly flutter open, a soft exhale escapes her lips. Scott moves closer to her in an instant and Seth doesn't let go of her hand.

They work better together. 

Seth used to think that in regards to himself and Richard, but it's different now. They're all better together. Richie, Scott, Kate. 

And whatever happens after Kate opens her eyes, they'll face with each other. 

Kate's lips slightly part open. 

"Seth."


End file.
